Thomas Andrew MADAR (aka Tommy) [1905-1990]

Birth: Shanghai, China 21st May 1905. 

"BIRTH.

On 21st May, at Shanghai, the wife of O.A. MADAR, of a son."

Source: Hong Kong Daily Press, page 2, 29th May 1905

Parents were Omar Abdool Madar (22nd July 1871 Hong Kong-14th December 1923 Hong Kong) and Sarah Shirazee (6th January 1874 Hong Kong-12th June 1947 Shanghai). The birth was registered much later at the British Consulate in Shanghai on 14th December 1933 by his mother.

Baptised: Holy Trinity Cathedral, Shanghai 12th May 1923 according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England

As a boy learning to play cricket in Shanghai he was coached by the cricketer George Frederick Foreshaw, a member of the Shanghai Cricket Club.

He was a talented sportsman and was an interporter cricketer representing Shanghai (along with his brother Patrick ('Pat') Madar) when he was living there. He also played softball, lawn bowls and badminton (and probably more) at club level throughout the 1930s and early 1940s in Hong Kong and was a member of the Kowloon Cricket Club. 

His day job was as an accountant (18th April 1934 Marriage Certificate) and Film Distributor for Fox Film Fed. Inc. (18th April 1934 marriage entry for Holy Trintiy Cathedral).

He was a Private (Service Number 2747) in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army in Hong Kong on 25th December 1941. He was subsequently interned in the Sham Shui Po camp in Kowloon. As a POW he was sent as a 5th draft from Hong Kong to Japan to be interned. All the shipments of POWs to Japan left from Sham Shui Po's Bamboo Pier. They were marched to the Bamboo Pier and then embarked on one of the ferry boats and taken out to their ship anchored in the harbour. He departed Hong Kong on 15th December 1943 on the 'S.S. Soong Cheong' to Takao, Formosa. He was then transferred to the 'Toyama Maru' which departed on the 30th December 1943 and arrived at the camp on 7th Janaury 1944 with about 400 British and Canadian POWs from Hong Kong. The camp was designated 'Osaka 11-B' and was located at Aichi-ken, Aichi-gun, Narumi-machi, Aimatsu Mura 114-3, Japan, about 4km SW of the village of Narumi, on the slope of a hill about 500 feet above sea level. The POWs were used as slave labour for the Daido Electric Steel Company and made wheels at the Nippon Wheel Manufacturing Company in Sambon Matsu, Atsutaku, Nagoya City (also known as Narumi Atsuta Japan Vehicle Company Ltd or the Nippon Sharyo Company Ltd). On 6th April 1944 jurisidictional control was transferred to Nagoya POW Command with 581 POWs and the camp was re-designated as 'Nagoya POW Camp 2B-Narumi'. He was liberated 2nd September 1945. Whilst interned he had listed his address as 'c/o 20th Century Fox Inc, Hong Kong'! 

He resided in Bangkok, Thailand in the post-war years and even skippered a cricket Bangkok side to Hong Kong in 1954. He was a member of the British Club in Bangkok where he was a British Club Golf Captain, Handicapper and Secretary as well. An on-line copy of the November 1983 edition of the 'Outpost' monthly magazine of the British Club in Bangkok had an article (with photos) of 'Tommy Madar Day'  which described the events of 2nd October 1983 as the last official day of Tommy as a member when he played golf with his buddies at the Rose Garden Golf Club in Thailand. 

He died in La Place, Louisiana, USA February 1990.

His wife was Catherine ('Katie' or 'Kay') Marsie Logan (14th April 1905 Shanghai-1st August 1973 Bangkok) whom he married at the British Consulate in Shanghai 18th April 1934 and then at the Holy Trinity Cathedral later the same day.

Source: Hong Kong Daily Press, page 8, 25th April 1934

He had a daughter, Jasmine Marsie Thomas Madar born in Shanghai Country Hospital 20th April 1935